Local News

Becker slaps school for taking brewer's gift

Legislator uses Facebook to criticize stadium donation

By Jeff Rice

Journal-Advocate staff writer

Posted:
08/16/2016 07:02:26 AM MDT

Artist's rendering to the proposed New Belgium Porch at CSU's new football stadium. (Courtesy Photo / csurams.com)

A state representative is questioning the wisdom of a decision by Colorado State University to accept a multi-million-dollar grant from a Fort Collins brewery to help finance the university's new football stadium. The legislator's objection has nothing to do with the brewery's product and everything to do with its position on water issues.

State Rep. Jon Becker, R-Fort Morgan, has gone online to criticize CSU for accepting a $4.3 million grant from New Belgium Brewing in exchange for the naming rights to the north end zone hospitality suite in the new Sonny Lubick Stadium. According to a news release from CSU the suite will be called the New Belgium Porch.

Becker took to Facebook on Monday to point out that New Belgium has been a vocal opponent of the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), a proposed water storage project that could increase water storage for agriculture in the South Platte Basin. The proposed Glade Reservoir would store up to 170,000 acre feet of water and be bigger than Horsetooth Reservoir. Because it would use water from the Poudre River, it has sparked a furious controversy in Larimer and Weld counties.

On Monday Becker posted on Facebook:

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"Disappointed that a land grant university would take money from this group! New Belgium Brewing makes gift to CSU." The post is linked to a news release posted on the CSU Sports Department's web site. In comments below the link, Becker continued, "New Belgium Brewery is one of the groups trying to stop the Northern Integrated Supply Project. NISP will greatly help agriculture in Colorado by FINALLY building much needed water storage. Colorado State University should have thought this one through before taking the money."

Contacted by telephone Monday morning, Becker said he's asked CSU for an explanation of the "thought process" behind accepting the gift.

"I'm a CSU alum, and I'm extremely disappointed," Becker said. "It seems like it's all about the money rather than a concern for agricultural issues, including water storage. I'd like an explanation of what their thought process is. They need to show support for agriculture on the basis of protecting agriculture, and that means (supporting expansion of) water supplies."

Becker said he'd gotten several phone calls from people supporting his post, and there were several responses on the site itself.

This isn't the first donation CSU has accepted from New Belgium. The news release on the stadium suites included the fact that, in 2015, New Belgium gave the university $1 million to update and renovate CSU's fermentation science and technology facilities.

New Belgium made its opposition to NISP clear in a 2015 blog in which it detailed donations made to anti-NISP campaigns:

"In 2009, New Belgium teamed up with a coalition of organizations, including the Waterkeeper Alliance, for the Save the Colorado campaign, and also gave a $40,000 grant to the Alliance's Poudre Waterkeeper chapter in an effort to help prevent Colorado's Glade Reservoir from diverting water from the Cache la Poudre River, a source for the brewery's water," the blog said. "Since then, our relationship has continued, most recently culminating in roughly $75,000 in awarded grant money for local Waterkeeper initiatives across the country."

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